Melvin is co-owner of New River Nets and Cofish International commercial fishing supply in Sneads Ferry. He also is a member of the N.C. Coastal Resources Commission. Melvin makes it a personal and professional mission to protect and restore North Carolina’s coast.
Dick Bierly, Vice President, Morehead City
A retired corporate manager, Dick brings expertise in human resources, employee recruitment and development, organization and management. He’s devoted to protecting our natural resources by combining economic and conservation interests. Dick is also a strong advocate of effective land-use planning.
Olivia Holding, Treasurer, Raleigh
Olivia is president of E. F. Properties, Inc. and the Ella Ann L. and Frank B. Holding Foundation. She is active in projects statewide and serves on boards including Tryon Palace, the N.C. Aquarium Society, the University of North Carolina’s Institute for the Environment and the Wake Forest University Board of Visitors.
Joe Ramus, Secretary, Beaufort
Joe has been on the faculty at Duke University for more than 30 years and directed its marine lab near Beaufort for 10 years. His scientific expertise is in estuary and ocean processes and his public interest is in coastal water-quality conservation and restoration. Joe has served on the boards of directors of Carteret County Crossroads and the Carteret County Economic Development Council.
Board Members
Eyualem Abebe, Elizabeth City
Eyualem moved to Elizabeth City in 2006 to join the faculty in biology department at Elizabeth City State University. His research interest is primarily aquatic ecology in freshwater, estuarine and marine habitats.
Before joining the university, he worked on a comparative study of invasive species in lakes in New Hampshire, Wisconsin and Michigan. Eyualem has also investigated the environmental effects of aquaculture in the open ocean. He has a passion for aquatic habitats and has a number of active research projects in the region.
Gerry Barrett, Atlantic
Gerry is a real estate developer specializing in smart-growth techniques. He is a long-time member of the N.C. Coastal Federation and became more involved with the federation while serving as co-chair of Down East Tomorrow, a grassroots movement pushing for better development rules for eastern Carteret County. Gerry grew up in Chatham County and received a degree in political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Elizabeth Brinker, Currituck
Liz worked as a marine fisheries biologist for the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries for more than 15 years. More recently, she’s taught environmental science, estuarine environments and geographic information systems at Elizabeth City State University. Liz currently is a researcher with the school's marine science program.
Veronica Carter, Leland
A retired Army officer, Veronica served as the political chair and eventually president of the Cape Fear Citizens for Safe Environment, a grassroots group that formed to fight a huge landfill in Brunswick County. The group was instrumental in getting a bill through the N.C. General Assembly in 2007 that effectively stopped four large landfills from being built in Eastern North Carolina. Veronica also is on the N.C. Coastal Resources Commission and serves on board of directors of Habitat for Humanity in the Cape Fear region.
Matthew Converse, Moyock
Matt is a consultant in Currituck County. He spent six years on the board of directors of the Currituck Chamber of Commerce, serving as it chairman and vice chair. Before coming to Eastern North Carolina, Matt worked for an international accounting firm in Washington and Baltimore. Matt gets his desire to protect the water honestly. His parents live on the Eastern Shore of Virginia where his father remains involved in various activities for preserving the area’s water quality.
Ernie Foster, Hatteras
Ernie grew up in Hatteras Village and has fished his entire life. His father brought the first charter fishing boat, the Albatross, to Cape Hatteras in 1937. After high school, Ernie left the island to attend college and to teach in Raleigh and Manteo. He retired as guidance counselor at Manteo High School in the late 1990s and returned to Hatteras. He now runs the famed Albatross fleet—three boats, all wooden and all built around 1930—full time. He and his wife, Lynne, are active in promoting local fisheries and preserving the heritage of Hatteras.
James Barrie Gaskill, Ocracoke
An Ocracoke native and the former owner of the Pony Island Motel in Ocracoke, James Barrie is a commercial fisherman and president of the Ocracoke Working Watermen's Association and a member of the Ocracoke Preservation Society. James Barrie and his family split their time between Ocracoke and Beaufort.
Bill Hunneke, Greenville
Bill is a native of New Jersey whose family has been in North Carolina since the late 1960s. A geologist with a masters’ degree in oceanography, Bill has logged hundreds of days aboard research vessels all over the world including dives to the bottom of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans in the submersibles vessels. Bill currently works for the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources and is a former president of the board of directors of the Pamlico-Tar River Foundation.
Leonard Jenkins, Leland
Leonard is the past president and chairman of Brunswick Citizens for a Safe Environment, a grassroots group that fought and ultimately won a battle to stop the Hugo Neu landfill in Navassa in 2008. He has also been a volunteer for the federation in the Southeast Region, working with others to represent us at special events. Leonard is the technology director for Brunswick County Schools. His wife, Tammy, is a teacher with the school system. Leonard is retired from the Air Force and received a Bachelor of Science degree in technology from Peru State College in Nebraska.
Joseph Kilpatrick, Winston-Salem
Joseph is retired from the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation where he oversaw grants on conservation and the environment. He now volunteers with the Center for Purposeful Living, which offers numerous programs and grants to promote service to communities. He also consulted with a small number of nonprofit organizations and is a longtime supporter of the federation..
Mary Hunter Martin, Raleigh
Mary is a librarian for Wake County public schools.
Randy Mason, Emerald Isle
Randy joined the federation staff in 1992 as business manager. He later became our first educator, leading water-based field trips for adults and families. When Randy retired, he joined the federation board where he is active with our annual Native Plant Sale, membership recruitment and many other hands-on activities.
Mildred G. (Midge) Ogletree, Columbia
Midge and her husband, Charlie, live on the Scuppernong River in Columbia and have fished and sailed on the waters of Eastern North Carolina for more than 40 years. A retired school teacher in Tyrrell County for 33 years, Midge has always been active in civic affairs. She currently serves on Columbia’s Board of Aldermen, the boards of trustees of the Tyrrell County Public Library and Pettigrew Regional Libraries and on the steering committee of Tyrrell Safe Neighborhoods.
David M. Paynter, Wilmington
David is the retired director of the New Hanover County Library System in Wilmington. David belongs to the Rotary Club and the New Hanover County Smart Start program. David enjoys reading, travel, gardening and birdwatching.
Rich Peruggi, Bolivia
Rich, a retired engineer, moved to Brunswick County with his wife, Claudia, in 2005. He was first introduced to the federation a year later when he attended the Lockwood Folly Watershed Roundtable meetings. He served on a technical advisory committee for the Brunswick County low-impact development manual and volunteered to take water samples and perform flow monitoring on the Lockwood Folly River. Rich also serves as the chairman of the Environmental Issues Committee for the Alliance of Brunswick County Property Owners Associations and leads the Scientific and Environmental Academy society for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington.
Lewis Piner, Wendell
Lewis is a Morehead City native who went to high school with federation founder, Todd Miller. He has taken an active interest in coastal environmental issues since high school. Lewis is a senior account executive for Underwriters Labs and he travels a large territory in 21 states.
Richard Powers, New Bern
Bill retired from the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources after more than 30 years. He has experience in the protecting groundwater and surface water, wastewater and hazardous-waste disposal and environmental education. He enjoys surfing, fishing, kayaking and swimming along the coast.
John Runkle, Chapel Hill
An environmental attorney, John represents communities across North Carolina facing threats from landfills, incinerators, wastewater discharges and over-development. He is the general counsel for the N.C. League of Conservation Voters, a statewide environmental organization that actively holds the General Assembly and the state agencies accountable through lobbying and political action. John is one of the federation’s founding board members.
Allie Sheffield, Surf City
Allie, a native North Carolinian, grew up in Warsaw and spent as much time as possible at family houses on the Black River, the Northeast Cape Fear River and Topsail Island. Her parents built one of the first cottages on Topsail Island after World War II. Allie practiced law in Washington for many years before moving to Surf City where she became active in Pender County issues. She serves on a committee in Pender that advises county staff and consultants on a new unified development ordinance and is president of PenderWatch & Conservancy.
Bland Simpson, Chapel Hill
Bland is a professor of English and creative writing at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and the author of several books. He is also a member of the musical group Coastal Cohorts and enjoys words and music and small boats. He is a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers; the N.C. Coastal Land Trust; N.C. Maritime Museum; Core Sound Waterfowl Museum and History Center; the N.C. Nature Conservancy; and the N.C. Writer’s Conference.
Donna Snead, Emerald Isle
Donna was an industrial microbiologist at Miller Brewing Co. for over 24 years. Donna also has an education degree in secondary science and has volunteered as educator for the federation, Cape Lookout National Seashore and the N.C. Aquarium in Pine Knoll Shores. Donna is currently working towards her N.C. Environmental Education Certification.
Doug Wakeman, Pittsboro
Doug is an economics professor at Meredith College in Raleigh. He is an active member of the Pamlico-Tar River Foundation, Haw River Assembly, Apalachicola River Keeper and the N.C. League of Conservation Voters. He's also on the board of N.C. Greenpower. Doug enjoys biking, boating, photography and fishing. Doug wants to ensure that his grand daughter is able to enjoy the beauty of the North Carolina Coast in the future.
Ginger Webster, Kitty Hawk
Ginger is a retired environmental and management consultant and an active traveler and volunteer. She serves on the boards of the local Currituck-Dare Community Foundation and the local Women’s Association. Ginger joined the Federation board to work toward her passion of protecting North Carolina’s coastal water quality and environment.
